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A monthly publication of the National Space Science Data Center/World Data Center for Satellite Information

No. 665

01 Apr. 2009

SPACEWARN Activities

All information in this publication was received between
01 March 2009 and 31 March 2009.

A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates (UTC).

COSPAR/WWASInternational ID

USSTRATCOMCatalog Number

Spacecraft Name

Launch Date (UT)

2009-015A

34669

Soyuz-TMA 14

26 March 2009

2009-014A

34661

Navstar 63

24 March 2009

2009-013A

34602

GOCE

17 March 2009

2009-012A

34541

STS 119

15 March 2009

2009-011A

34380

Kepler

07 March 2009

B. Text of Launch Announcements.

2009-015A

Soyuz-TMA 14
is a Russian (RKA) passenger craft that was launched
by a Soyuz-FG rocket from Baikonur at 11:49 UT on 26 March 2009. It
carried a Russian cosmonaut, an American astronaut and a space
tourist to the International Space Station. It docked with the Zvezda
module of the ISS at 13:05 UT on 28 March 2009. The last 150 meters
during the approach to docking were performed manually after a
computer glitch occurred. The two astronauts will form part of the
ISS Expedition 19 crew while the tourist will return 07 April 2009
aboard Soyuz-TMA 13 with two members of the current ISS crew. Initial
orbital parameters are 51.65° inclination, 199.0 km perigee altitude,
250.9 km apogee altitude, 88.7 minutes orbital period.

2009-014A

Navstar 63,
also known as USA 203 and as GPS 2R-20(M), is
an American (DOD) navigational craft in the GPS fleet, that was launched by
a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 08:34 UT on 24 March 2009. It
will replace the GPS 2A-27 satellite launched in 1996.

2009-013A

GOCE,
the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation
Explorer, is a European (ESA) Earth science satellite that was launched at
14:21 UT on 17 March 2009 from Plesetsk on a Rockot/Breeze KM launch
vehicle. GOCE is designed to measure Earth's gravitational field to
create very high-resolution maps of the geoid. These maps will
provide the baseline for measurements of ocean circulation and sea-level
change. The 1,100 kg spacecraft is 5 meters long by 1 meter
wide and its fixed solar arrays will produce 1.3 kW of power. The
satellite carries six high-sensitivity accelerometers arranged along
three axes of the spacecraft. To enable the satellite to acquire high-resolution
measurements the satellite must travel at a low orbital
altitude (260 km) at which atmospheric drag effects are still
significant. To compensate for these effects the satellite has a
sleek arrow-shaped design to reduce drag and small winglets and a
tail fin to stabilize the spacecraft. GOCE's orbital altitude will
also be maintained with the assistance of an ion engine on-board.

2009-012A

STS 119
is an American (NASA) shuttle craft that was launched from
Cape Canaveral at 23:43 UT on 15 March 2009. It carried seven
astronauts (six American and one Japanese) to the International Space
Station (ISS). The shuttle docked at the ISS at 21:20 UT on 17 March
2009. The crew transfer brought aboard the ISS the first Japanese
long-duration astronaut. The primary goal of the mission was to bring
the final set of solar arrays, also known as the starboard 6 or S6
truss segment, to the ISS and install them. The crew performed three
spacewalks to install the truss segment and carry out other
activities. The crew also delivered a new urine processor
distillation assembly as part of the crew life support system. The
shuttle undocked from the ISS at 19:53 UT on 25 March and landed at
Cape Canaveral at 19:14 UT on 28 March. The shuttle returned with
samples of water cleaned by the recycling system and also frozen
biological samples collected over several months as part of a medical
experiment on human response to microgravity.

2009-011A

Kepler
is an American (NASA) astronomy probe launched by a
Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 03:50 UT on 07 March 2009.
Kepler's mission is to search for Earth-sized planets around other
stars by looking for brightness variations in over 100,000 stars in
the Cygnus-Lyra region. The photometer on Kepler will continuously
monitor the same star-field in a 12° field of view over the
nominal 3.5 year lifetime, allowing multiple observations of transits
of exoplanets in orbits up to one year. To help fulfill the science
objectives, the 1,052 kg spacecraft was placed into a solar orbit of
period 372.5 days. This orbit helps maintain a stable pointing attitude.

C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation

High precision (<20 cm) GPS constellation tracking data obtained from
the network of about 400 dedicated global stations that are of interest to
geodetic study may be obtained through the following services provided
by the International GNSS Service (IGS). The IGS is a service of the
International Association of Geodesy (IAG).

All GLONASS spacecraft are in the general Cosmos series. The Cosmos numbers
invoked by USSPACECOM have often differed from the numbers (NNNN)
associated in Russia; when different, the USSPACECOM Cosmos numbers are shown
in parentheses. The corresponding GLONASS numbers are Russian numbers, followed
by the numbers in parentheses that are sometimes attributed to them outside
Russia.

Related NSSDC resources.

NSSDC/WDC for Satellite Information is an archival center for science
data from many spacecraft. Many space physics datasets are on-line for
electronic access through:http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/space/

For off-line data, please contact the Request Office, NSSDC, Code 690.1,
NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A., for specific information
(nssdc-request@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov).
Information on the current status of the instruments on board from the
investigators will be most welcomed. Precomputed trajectory files
and orbital parameters of many magnetospheric and heliospheric science-payload
spacecraft may be obtained from:http://nssdcftp.gsfc.nasa.gov/miscellaneous/orbits/